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SPRINGFIELD,
Mass. – Top ranked Bentley seized the momentum midway
through the first half and went on to a 102-92 win over North
Alabama in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division II Elite
Eight at the MassMutual Center.
The win ends UNA’s
season at 27-9 overall while Bentley improved to 34-0 and meets
Winona State in the NCAA semifinal on Thursday.
UNA trailed by 12
at the half and by as many as 19 points in the second half before a
late rally cut the Bentley lead to eight with 3:22 to play. The
Falcons iced the game at the free throw line and scored the most
points ever allowed by UNA in its 41 post-season NCAA games.
Thomas Fraise led
UNA with 25 points and Kenny Johnson added 18, Casey Holt 15, Quinn
Beckwith 13 and Andrew Chesney 11.
UNA hit just nine
of 27 three-point attempts in the game but held a 36-35 rebounding
advantage. Chesney and Holt led UNA on the boards with six each.
There were 10 lead changes in the first 10 minutes of the game and
UNA held a 21-19 lead at the 10:10 mark of the opening half. Bentley
then outscored the Lions 29-15 over the last 10 minutes of the half
to take a 48-36 lead into the locker room at the half. UNA was just
five-of-15 on three-point attempts in the first half and had eight
turnovers to just three for Bentley.J
In the second
half, Bentley slowly extended its lead to 19 at 91-62 with seven
minutes to play but UNA didn’t quit. The Lions got two
three-pointers from Beckwith and some inside baskets from Fraise,
Chesney and Thomas Morris to finally get the margin under 10. The
Falcons managed to seal the game at the line in front of a crowd of
3,680.
With 15 points
against Bentley, Holt set a UNA single-season scoring record with
640 points. He passed the mark of 625 that the late Dabbs Earnest
set in 1961-62. Holt also finished his career as the ninth leading
scorer in UNA history with 1,220 points.
UNA was playing in
its 12th NCAA Division II National Tournament and has an
all-time 30-11post-season record. The Lions were making their eighth
appearance in the NCAA quarterfinals and have a 5-3 record in the
quarterfinals.\
Printable Game Statistics - Elite Eight -
Bentley |
